300 Writing Prompts: #138

Thank you for being an important part of my life, for giving me a vague understanding of the intricacies of this existence, and for not minding when I sometimes get things wrong. I can’t tell you how many times a word you threw out carelessly helped me to become a better person. That’s because I take things to heart, even when they’re not meant for me. Some people call it paranoia, but you understand it goes much deeper than that.

Dear someone, you give me a reason to smile. That time you ignored me was one of the best lessons in patience that I’ve ever gotten. That time you cut me off when I was driving to Dairy Queen, and I almost went in the ditch, taught me a string of new curse words that I had never used before, and that I’ve never used since. Your ability to know just what I need when I need it is more important than you’ll ever know.

Dear someone, thank you for sitting beside me in math class and cheating off me. It gave me an insane amount of confidence in my answers, that you chose me over Amy Lou, who was also really good at math, and who sat on the other side of you. I’ll never forget when you blamed the dumpster fire on me, even though you didn’t even know my name. Your pointing and saying “It’s him!” was reaffirming to my psyche.

Dear someone, thank you for never giving me the time of day, even when I don’t have a watch and you do. I appreciate your candor and the way you never lie about anything, even when it could protect someone else’s feelings. It’s those little things that mean more than words could ever say. Which reminds me, thanks for hardly ever using words to tell me how you feel. That way I can imagine you think positive things about me, even though you hardly ever show it.